Henry Winkler opens up to patients at Braintree Rehabilitation Hospital

Actor Henry Winkler brought a dose of humor and message of encouragement to patients and staff of Braintree Rehabilitation Hospital during a visit Wednesday, April 13, 2011. He was there as a spokesman for the “Open...

One thing actor Henry Winkler saved from his years on the sitcom “Happy Days” is a woodcarving sent to him by a fan. On it is a message, “If you will it, it’s not a dream,” he said.

Winkler brought a dose of humor and message of encouragement to patients and staff of Braintree Rehabilitation Hospital during a visit Wednesday. He was there as a spokesman for the “Open Arms” campaign to raise awareness of upper limb spasticity, a condition that afflicted his mother after a stroke.

Being an actor was something Winkler wanted to do since he was 7. Looking back on his career as an actor, producer, director and author, Winkler said he has been able to “accomplish some things I never thought I’d do in my life.”

Before he played the personification of 1950’s cool, Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli, Winkler struggled in school due to dyslexia.

“You spend one-third of your time trying to figure out school, one-third of your time trying to figure out why you can’t figure out school, and you spend one third of your time trying to figure out how to cover up your shame because you can’t figure it out,” he recalled.

When it came time to go to college, Winkler said he applied to 28 schools and was accepted by two. One of them was Emerson College in Boston.

“I’m very grateful to Emerson College for giving me a shot,” he said.

After graduation, he went to Yale for graduate studies in drama.

Another legacy from his college years.

“I love Pizzeria Regina,” he said.

Winkler is the author of a series of 17 children’s books, featuring Hank Zipzer, “the world’s greatest underachiever.”

His first book for adults, “I Never Met An Idiot on the River,” will be released next month. The book is about fly fishing, a hobby he took up late in life.

“My technique is ugly, but I get my fish,” he said.

Winkler’s involvement with upper limb spasticity started when his mother, Ilse, suffered a stroke in 1989.

And while his sister was his mother’s primary caregiver, Winkler had high praise for those who take on the job.

“Being a caregiver is a tremendously difficult job,” Winkler said. “You can’t have guilt about not doing enough.”

Upper limb spasticity causes stiffening of the joints of the elbow, wrist, and hand. The condition is found in people who have suffered a stroke, spinal cord or traumatic brain injury, multiple sclerosis or cerebral palsy.